Strange Kinoko Dance Company dances the ordinary

Helly Minarti ,  Contributor ,  Jakarta   |  Tue, 04/15/2008 11:40 AM  |  Potpourri

Five girls enter stage-left. One sits, posing on the back of another who starts to crawl. She has one arm clinging to another's shoulder, while even more dancers make creative entrances.

Their costumes are bright, summery casual clothes. The movement vocabulary varies, from carefully choreographed arches and lines of arms and legs to those taken from daily life.

Whether it is a jump, a pirouette or a simple gesture like a lazy climb another dancer's back, they all exude a languid feel against the accompanying American brassy big band jazz, Latin and bossanova that swings with their swaying bodies and rhythm.

Under the bright lighting, the overall mood created is indeed cheerful, playful and not dramatic. Dramatic theater only occurs during the short intervals in between scenes, when the stage darkens and a solo dancer poses awkwardly under the moving spotlight.

At other times, the intervals morph into rock n roll music, blasting to another solo dancer's movements. The dynamic is set: the solo pieces are placed on a more dramatic background, whilst the duets remain as playful as the group choreography. This is juxtaposed, however, in the last scene, which invites many interpretations to its narrative.

Founded by choreographer Chie Ito in 1990, Strange Kinoko Dance Company belongs to the so-called new wave generation of Japanese contemporary dance.

Whilst Japanese dance critics and scholars still engage in debates on how to best define or theorize this latest artistic development, all seem to agree it originated in 1986; the dawn of a new era in Japanese contemporary dance, when significant events in the country's dance scene collided.

First of all, the passing in 1986 of Tatsumi Hijikata, who discovered Butoh, marked the end of an era. His passing was followed by the first performance by Pina Bausch of Wuppertal Tanztheater, the doyenne of German dance, in Japan.

Bausch soon influenced the work of a new generation; names like Leni Basso, to perform later this year in Jakarta, and Pappa Tarahumara, who performed at the Art Summit Indonesia III in 2001.

Apart from the Bausch troupe, the booming economy in the 80s enabled Japan to invite other big names, especially those based in Europe, such as William Forsythe, from the then Ballet Frankfurt, and Belgium's Rosas and Jan Fabre.

Another big bang was the emergence of the arguably most successful and influential dancer of the post-Butoh generation, the virtuosic Saburo Teshigawara, whose dance aesthetic was offbeat from the previous mainstream. Teshigawara achieved world presence as the most influential Japanese dancer after Butoh.

The yen weakened in the 90s, tainted by a big earthquake and the Sarin gas attack that shredded Japan's social security. Japan's economy was gradually becoming sluggish, heading toward the new millenium.

Daisuke Muto -- a Japanese dance critic who has frequently visited Indonesia since 2005 and will be a curator at this year's Indonesian Dance Festival -- pointed out the new wave of Japanese dance has been haunted by dancers' conscience of poverty and resource deficiency in Japan's long history.

But in a presentation here last December, Muto also argued it was exactly through all those sentiments Japanese dance found a particular path and alternative aesthetic, which he calls the "anti-spectacle of the ordinary body", to which dance troupes like Strange Kinoko belong.

What makes the new generation different from their Butoh and virtuosic predecessors, is the fact it turns to daily life for inspiration, exploring the ordinary and mundane from different angles and points of view.

As for Strange Kinoko, despite being well-trained in technique, the way they dance is not at all virtuosic. Whilst their movements can be typical of professional dancers, Strange Kinoko Dance Company's dancers do not project themselves as star performers, rather, ordinary girls.

On stage, they are easygoing, laid back and playful. Their theatricality lies in their ordinariness -- whether it is the choreography, the costumes, the music or the lighting.

They set to "pursue researching dance from many different perspectives" as their Website lauds. They have performed in theaters as well as museums, art galleries, offices and warehouses.

The piece they will be performing tonight and tomorrow in Jakarta is titled "Touching your face whilst you sleep", their latest creation. With the troupe's intimate approach, the 58-minute piece is suitable for the Teater Kecil at Taman Ismail Marzuki.

The performance celebrates the Golden Year of Friendship between Japan and Indonesia. The Japan Foundation has organized a series of arts and cultural events in three cities this month.

Strange Kinoko Dance Company Touching your face whilst you sleep

* April 15-16, 8 p.m., Teater Kecil, Taman Ismail Marzuki (TIM), Jl. Cikini Raya no. 73, Central Jakarta. Tickets: Rp 50,000 (www.tamanismailmarzuki.com)

* April 18, 7 p.m., Jogja National Museum (JNM), Jl. Amri Yahya no. 1 (Gampingan), Wirobrajan, Yogyakarta (www.jogjanationalmuseum.org)

* April 21, 7 p.m., Selasar Sunary Art Space, Jl. Bukit Pakar Timur no. 100, Bandung (www.selasarsunaryo.com)

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